Chicken run flooring

[rosemarythyme]

I very much agree with others that this would defeat the purpose, but you can use a few to hold the wire in place. They do make pin/staple things to do that but I used the pavers I had on hand.

Yup, landscape staples are very easy to use if the ground is soft enough (and not too rocky or full of tree roots) as you can push them in or mallet them in.

OP, if you're dealing with rocky soil or a lot of tree roots, another option would be to cover the apron with mulch/wood chips or gravel, or bury it just a little under plain dirt. Or if you had grass growing in the area, it'll grow through and anchor down the apron for you quite well.

 

[Avettfan]

We had pavers in our chicken run. We started with mulch as the cover and then went to sand. Both were pretty much a disaster. We’ve recently moved our coop to a different area in the yard and went with no pavers but a predator apron. It’s 1000% better in every way. We’ve put mulched up hardwood as the run bottom directly on soil. The soil is the critical component of making it all work.

 

[vblrn]

We had pavers in our chicken run. We started with mulch as the cover and then went to sand. Both were pretty much a disaster. We’ve recently moved our coop to a different area in the yard and went with no pavers but a predator apron. It’s 1000% better in every way. We’ve put mulched up hardwood as the run bottom directly on soil. The soil is the critical component of making it all work.

Thanks for the info I think I am considering just putting the pavers around the outside of the run with the two coops inside on dirt covered with mulch Probably still gonna do a wire apron as well What wire do you recommend?

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks for the info I think I am considering just putting the pavers around the outside of the run with the two coops inside on dirt covered with mulch Probably still gonna do a wire apron as well What wire do you recommend?

I used 1/2" hardware cloth.

I was going to use 2x4 wire because it's less expensive, still effective against dogs, coyotes, and raccoons, and I don't have a rodent problem. Then I found out that this area has several kinds of weasels.

If you use pavers and an apron be sure to extend the wire out as wide beyond the pavers as you would have had it without pavers. Remember that the predators will start digging at the edge of the pavers.

 

[Avettfan]

Thanks for the info I think I am considering just putting the pavers around the outside of the run with the two coops inside on dirt covered with mulch Probably still gonna do a wire apron as well What wire do you recommend?

We used galvanized hardwire cloth (1/2” 19 gauge). We used this as the apron as well as to enclose our coop run.

 

[Mnachicks]

I used 1/2" hardware cloth.

I was going to use 2x4 wire because it's less expensive, still effective against dogs, coyotes, and raccoons, and I don't have a rodent problem. Then I found out that this area has several kinds of weasels.

If you use pavers and an apron be sure to extend the wire out as wide beyond the pavers as you would have had it without pavers. Remember that the predators will start digging at the edge of the pavers.

Just finished putting the predator apron around our coop yesterday so we can move the girls out to the coop later this week. We were planning on putting raised beds along the sides of the coop to plant veggies and chicken friendly herbs. Would the predators look at the beds the same way they would the pavers and should I extend my apron in the areas where the beds will be?

 

[3KillerBs]

Just finished putting the predator apron around our coop yesterday so we can move the girls out to the coop later this week. We were planning on putting raised beds along the sides of the coop to plant veggies and chicken friendly herbs. Would the predators look at the beds the same way they would the pavers and should I extend my apron in the areas where the beds will be?

Predators will dig at the edge of any kind of visible barrier so yes, you do have to extend the apron beyond the edge of the beds for it to be effective.

Having it under the beds should be good for keeping voles out of your garden.

 

[Mnachicks]

Thanks! So glad I saw this post while I can still make an easy addition to the apron.